Old-fashioned Creature Feature Is Big On The `Ick' Factor

March 31, 2006|By Roger Moore Orlando Sentinel

Slither slimes into theaters, an old-fashioned creature feature where the emphasis is on cheese. Or, in this case, Cheez Whiz.

This writing-directing debut from the guy who concocted that ripoff known as Dawn of the Dead isn't that scary, and it isn't nearly as funny as he seems to think it is. So that means it all comes down to the "ick" factor, which is plenty icky.

Nathan Fillion showed a talent for droll, profane resignation in TV's Firefly and its big screen incarnation, Serenity. He plays the sheriff in tiny Wheelsy, S.C. Here's the deal: He reacts to the yahoos he works with and lives among. And we laugh.

A meteor crashes. Bugs get out. And the first guy they invade is local rich guy and cradle-robber Grant Grant (Michael Rooker). And since he starred in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, you figure, "Smart move, aliens."

But Grant Grant very slowly -- too slowly -- infects the rest of the town, and hunts every bit of raw meat on the menu (he wipes out the local pet population). He becomes more squidlike by the minute, and yet somehow decides, rationally, not to impregnate his too-young, too-hot wife (Elizabeth Banks) with slug-spawn.

The sheriff rounds up a posse to hunt down Grant Grant. And the bugs hit the fan.

Writer-director James Gunn sets this farce in the middle of deer-hunting season in redneck America. The stereotypes run broad and deep, even if they did film it with non-Southerners in Canada. Profanity, as anybody can tell you, has more bite to it when it's delivered with an exaggerated drawl.

Gregg Henry, as the deep-fried mayor, lands most of the laughs with his colorful cursing, a natural reaction to what he sees happening to his potential voters.

"They wuz tryin' to get in my mouth. What kinda thang wants you t'eat it?"